Thrila

On analyzing complex systems

Thrila — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Have you ever worked on a huge a project that had a lot of parts that interacted in a meaningful way? Did you occasionally realize that you didn't know what the hell you were doing? Well I wrote this guide to help me make sense of complex systems. Hope it helps you analyze complex systems better.

Do not get Intimidated by the system

When a complex system is placed in front of most people they suddenly become aware of how much they do not know which eventually turns to fear or anxiety. In an ideal case, when a complex system is placed in front of you curiosity should surpass every other emotion. This however might take time to attain so if you catch yourself been intimidated by a complex system take some time to realize what is happening and focus on becoming calm.

Focus on the Big picture

Say you are looking at a robust codebase, It is very easy to get lost in the complexity that is the functions and classes you do not understand yet, instead of diving in and trying to understand what every single piece of code is doing focus on seeing the big picture. If the system is truly complex analyzing everything without seeing the big picture first would lead to type of procrastination that can leave you feeling more confused and anxious. One of the ways of focusing on the big picture is by noting the functionalities of the system.

Outline the system

Okay then, so now you have an idea of the functionalities of the system the next step is to outline the system. Outline the system into components for example: say the complex system in your case is a codebase you can further break down the codebase into parts based on their functionality or any other characteristics that makes sense to you . In this step you do not try to go in-depth instead you try to be aware of the components existence it can also help to hypothesize on what each component does.

Iteratively analyze each component of the system

Pick a component from the system and focus on learning what it does, usually you will realize that it is interconnected with other parts of the main system but do not focus on getting what the whole system does, instead take your time to understand what the component does and when you do move on to the next component of the system till you are done with all the components

Understand how the system's components interact with each other

After you understand what the individual components do direct your attention towards understanding how the system's parts function together to make the complex system.

Finding a Specific Thing

Occasionally you do not even need to understand the full system just a single part of it, in this case you want to focus on what you want to understand and treat the rest of the system as a Blackbox.

tldr

When you analyze a complex system you want to keep choosing a level of abstraction preferably the highest and recursively go deeper and deeper till you are very comfortable with the system.

Animefying life

Thrila — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 00:00:00 GMT

One of the most impressive things about Shonen protagonists is their ability to set a goal that seems bigger than life and make reasonable strides towards it from the likes of Naruto going from an outcast to the hokage to Luffy screaming on the top of his lungs that he is gonna become the king of the pirates. Anime characters inspire me by how they chase their dreams so I decided to write a guide on how to do the same.

Choose a Goal and make it grand

For this to be effective it should typically be something you have you feel is worth losing sleep over something you know you can obsess over, something meaningful to you. For Naruto is was becoming the hokage but it can be anything for you.

Strong emotions are good even though they are negative

Strong emotions are very powerful motivators and what can I say getting started is easier when you are motivated. Did your 5th grade teacher say you wouldn't amount to anything? Good, now prove her wrong and rub it in her face. It's important to realize that emotions are neither good nor bad the are just emotions if they can help drive you become a better person then it is foolish to not use them

Rivalry

Nothing quite brings the best out of people like competition. It's no surprise that it is a recurring theme (motif) in anime. Having someone who is striving towards the same goal as you to compete against will not only improve your skills but also theirs remember however to ensure that this rivalry doesn't turn to hate. If your rival happens to do better than you, your thoughts should be like; damn! I've grown soft how the hell do I get back on track and not how do I kill my Naruto.

See life challenges as quests

Challenges are an unavoidable part of life rather than frowning when life throws one your way think of them as opportunities to grow. A really easy way to do that is to think of them as quests Wanna get better at something? Make it a quest, reframe life's challenges as quests to become better.

Show off in public, build in private

Say you have a Maths test tomorrow, rather than playing vidya all night and then sleeping around 3 am, studying your ass off till you genuinely feel like you understand the material, sleeping and going to school looking iced out (maybe even arriving a little late), writing the test only to be the student with the highest score is a flex. In the end people don't give a rat's ass about the work you do, they just want to see results and well it's better to look cool when presenting results than looking like a fool.

Find your tribe

Finding people that are as driving as you can make a notable difference in your strive for excellence. Before the internet it was more difficult to find people with the same interest as you especially if your interests are a bit niche now however finding a group of people that share the same interest as you is literally one search away.

Be a Nerd

Thrila — Sun, 14 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

What do Eddie Van Halen, Steve Wozniak, Quentin Tarantino, and Elon Musk have in common? Well, other than being successful men, they are all nerds. The word nerd, used in different contexts, has meant different things, so for clarity, here is a definition from the Oxford Dictionary:

Nerd: A person who is extremely enthusiastic and knowledgeable about a particular subject, especially one of specialist or niche interest.

Basically, nerds are people who care about a specific subject so much that they spend hours upon hours learning about it.

When you care about something so much that you spend hours on end on it, interesting things happen. With time, you gain mastery, and if there is internet content more valuable than cute cat videos, it’s videos of experts doing their thing.

In various fields, nerds have brought about creative and innovative ideas. Wozniak designed and built the first Macintosh, which became the bedrock for Jobs to build his empire. Eddie revolutionized the sound of the guitar forever with his electrifying performance and two-hand tapping. Elon’s obsession with space has driven new engineering innovations and opened opportunities for other nerds.

Nerds are the architects of the world. Tech nerds design and build the systems and devices you depend on. Music nerds make the songs you can’t help but play on repeat. Fashion nerds design the drip you admire but can’t afford. Film nerds design the worlds you escape into.

Another really cool thing about being a nerd is that if you play your cards right, your passion can pay off—not only in fulfillment but financially. Don’t believe me? Quentin Tarantino’s movies have grossed over $1.9 billion worldwide. Van Halen sold 80 million albums worldwide. Elon Musk’s ventures, along with Apple’s early success thanks to Wozniak’s machines and Jobs’ vision, have reshaped the economic landscape of our generation.

Basically, nurture the part of you that obsesses over what fascinates you. Today it’s your hobby, tomorrow it could be the next thing the world can’t live without.

Opportunity Cost of Opportunities

Thrila — Sun, 20 Jul 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Opportunity : A chance for advancement, profit or progress.

Opportunity Cost : The value of the best alternative you give up when you choose to do something else.

You are constantly choosing even if you do not realize it

Every single day you let go of opportunities that could change your life. When you decide to watch football instead of coding an extra hour, you are forgoing the opportunity of coding and getting better for entertainment. Hence it might be wise to spend time understanding what opportunities and opportunity cost means so as to gain the most from opportunities around you.

How does one make the most of Opportunities?

Humans like any other animals have needs, sometimes you will feel like pursuing a short term opportunity instead of doing what would benefit you in the long term. Weird as it seems in certain cases this is usually the best choice.

My advice for making the most out of opportunities is weighing your options and after considering your circumstances choosing an option that would be the most suitable for you in the long term. This can get a bit confusing so let me explain with words.

Every choice excludes others; the cost is what you could have done instead
~Elon Musk

Say you had a month to live, in the long term it would be more to your benefit if you spent time with family instead of going to work. why is that? well because looking at the time you have left it would be a bit depressing to be on your death bed filled with regret wishing you had called your mum more.

A good rule of thumb for judging if an opportunity is worth its cost is by seeing examining the other options you have around and how missing out on them makes you feel instead of the opportunity you are pursuing.

Solar Atlas: A Personal Experiment in Renewable-Energy Mapping

Thrila — Mon, 22 Sep 2025 00:00:00 GMT

A while back I was curious about how renewable energy varies by region.
After checking several data providers, I was unsatisfied with how the numbers were presented, so I decided to build something that felt clearer and more interactive.
That’s how Solar Atlas was born.

I wanted to compare a location’s solar potential with its household electricity needs.
The plan was simple gather energy-related datasets, relate them to average family size in each country, and display everything in a simple, stylish and intuitive way

Data Sources

Family size by country: UN Household Size & Composition
Population: World Bank – Total Population
Energy consumption per capita: World Bank – Electricity Use
Solar intensity & daylight: NASA POWER API

How It Works

I aggregated the public datasets, exported them as CSV, and imported everything into a SQLite database.
When a user clicks a point on the map:

The app captures the latitude and longitude.
It queries the NASA POWER API for solar duration and intensity at that exact spot.
Using the same coordinates, it identifies the country, pulls the matching row from SQLite, and combines the results.
Users can optionally enter the number of solar panels they own or the amount of power they want to generate to get tailored estimates.

Reflection

It meets my own needs for quick, location-specific insight, but there’s plenty of room for refinement.
I plan to keep improving it better caching, richer seasonal data, maybe even a PostGIS backend for more advanced spatial queries.